


If the Shoe Fits

by sagansjagger



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cinderella Elements, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Foot Massage, Humor, Identity Reveal, Shoes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:48:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger
Summary: Chat was 17-years-old when Ladybug caught him with his pants down.Not literally, of course. But she’d chosen the same alley as he did to detransform in, and he heard her gasp just as he called, “Claws in.”Plagg took one look at her, one look at Adrien, one look at the wall, and said, “You’re on your own, Kid.” The Black Cat kwami phased through the wall, leaving Adrien completely helpless and completely alone.Well, not completely alone.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Plagg/Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 153





	If the Shoe Fits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InkyCoffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyCoffee/gifts).



> This was a one shot reward for Lou (InkyCoffee) for reaching level 50 in the Miraculous Fanworks Discord server (link below). I'm so excited to write this for you, Lou! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Chat was 17-years-old when Ladybug caught him with his pants down.

Not literally, of course. But she’d chosen the same alley as he did to detransform in, and he heard her gasp just as he called, “Claws in.”

Plagg took one look at her, one look at Adrien, one look at the wall, and said, “You’re on your own, Kid.” The Black Cat kwami phased through the wall, leaving Adrien completely helpless and completely alone.

Well, not completely alone. 

“A-Adrien!” Ladybug said, “Hi! You seeing fancy here! I mean, here fancy seeing you! I mean, fancy here you seeing!”

Adrien winced. “Fancy seeing you here?”

“Actexly.”

Adrien tried to parse that but came up blank. “What?”

Ladybug pointed at his chest. “You are just so handsome--I mean foolhardy! I mean, how could detransform alleyway Chat in you!”

Adrien furrowed his brow at her. “You were about to use the same alleyway. Right?”

“Noooo.” Ladybug scuffed her foot on the ground. “I was… shopping.”

Adrien blinked. “You were shopping. In an alleyway.”

“Exlyact,” Ladybug said, nodding rapidly. “There are very nice curtains here. To buy!”

Adrien glanced around. There was a smelly, green Dumpster abutting a brick wall separating him and Ladybug. And a beer bottle on the ground. And cat puke. He couldn’t see any curtains and there certainly wasn’t anything for sale in the alleyway. 

“Oh,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, um, you know me?”

“You know do not I!” Ladybug said, waving her hands, but Adrien was beginning to suspect that Ladybug--who hated liars--was, in fact, lying. “Cute are you but model that’s because! A good friend you my are!”

A smile found its way to Adrien’s lips. He pointed at himself. “You think I’m cute, Bug?”

“Ahahaha, look at the time!” Ladybug made a show of looking at her empty, gloved wrist. She tapped it twice. “Must go! Adrien care take!”

Adrien raised his hand to get her to wait, but she was already zipping off onto a nearby roof. He heard her say, “Spots off,” and then curse under her breath as she dropped something. 

A pink ballet flat bounced off the roof and landed directly in front of Adrien.

 _Where have I seen that shoe before?_ Adrien wondered, approaching the flat. “Ladybug? You dropped--”

“Keep it!” she shouted from the roof. “Just go, Chat!”

Adrien couldn’t refuse a direct order from his Lady. He picked up the shoe and turned it over and over in his hands as he exited the alleyway. _I’ve seen this shoe before. But on whom?_

Despite knowing his Lady was unmasked on the roof behind him and not wanting to leave her there, Adrien made his way home, puzzling over the owner of the shoe.

Plagg phased into the door to Adrien’s room as soon as Adrien shut it. “Plagg!” Adrien said, pulling the shoe out of his coat pocket. “Whose shoe is this?”

“Uh-uh.” Plagg shook his head. “I’ve given you too many hints. If you want to find out who she is, figure out who owns the shoe yourself.”

“What hints?” Adrien huffed. “She knew me, Plagg. She thinks I’m cute.”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “So it should be super easy figuring out who she is, right?”

Adrien pursed his lips. “She said I was her good friend. But I don’t know which of my friends wears pink ballet flats.” Adrien blinked. “What if I’ve known her for a long time? What if she’s from Miss Bustier’s class?”

“Doesn’t Chloé--”

“Don’t even finish that thought, Plagg,” Adrien said, groaning. “Chloé’s my oldest friend, and yeah, she does wear flats, but she’s not Ladybug and I already know that.”

“Yeah?” Plagg raised a brow. “What about Lila Rossi?”

Adrien stuck his tongue out. “You just like torturing me, don’t you? Ladybug and I fought Lila, remember?”

Plagg folded his arms. “Well, who haven’t you fought from that class?”

Adrien pondered over that. “Well, we fought Alya as Lady Wifi. And Rose as Princess Fragrance. And Juleka as Reflekta.”

Plagg nodded. “Go on.”

“Myléne was Horrificator,” Adrien said, tapping his chin. “And Sabrina was Vanisher.”

Plagg waved a flipper in a circle. “So…”

Adrien twisted the flat in his hand, creasing it. “What if she’s not from Miss Bustier’s class?”

“Okay,” Plagg said, raising a flipper and pressing it to his head. “So what other girls do you know?”

“There’s Kagami.”

“Whom you fought as Riposte.”

“Ah.” Adrien bit his lower lip. “Aurore?”

Plagg squinted at him. “Stormy Weather.”

“Oh, right.” Adrien drew a breath in through his nose and blew it out from his mouth. “Mireille?”

Plagg cocked his head to the side. “I don’t think you ever fought Mireille, no.”

Adrien leapt into the air, his fist raised. “Then Mireille has to be her!” 

Plagg let loose an explosive sigh. “Hang on there, Casanova. You’re missing one girl.”

Adrien blinked again. “Who?”

“Who else is in Miss Bustier’s class that hasn’t been akumatized?”

Adrien thought back. Remembering who was in a class he’d attended three years ago was tough. He realized that he was forgetting the girl who’d sat directly behind him. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

“Ding, ding, ding!” Plagg said, grinning at him. “Good job using the braincell.”

Adrien blew a raspberry at Plagg. “So all I have to do is get Mireille and Marinette to try on this shoe.”

“And how are you going to get them to do that?”

Adrien gave his kwami the kitten eyes. “You don’t think they’d want to as a favor to a friend?”

Plagg scoffed. “A friend who couldn’t even remember one of them.”

Adrien sucked a breath over his teeth. “Ouch. I guess I deserved that.” 

“Well, go on. Text them.”

Adrien’s brows rose. “You’re really giving me the go-ahead?”

“I am soooo sick of identity shenanigans, Kid,” Plagg said, rubbing his temples with his flippers. “The sooner you learn who your mystery girl is, the sooner I can spend unencumbered time with my Sugarcube.”

 _Sugarcube?_ Adrien thought, furrowing his brow. Following Plagg’s lead, Adrien pulled his phone out of his pocket and started tapping away messages for Mireille and Marinette.

 **Me:** Hey! Been a while! Can we meet?

Mireille got back to him immediately, which Adrien was pleased with. “Okay, cool, Mireille wants to meet today,” Adrien read aloud, scrolling through his texts. “Nothing from Marinette. I can meet Mireille at the Arc de Triomphe in an hour.”

“What are you waiting for?” Plagg said, sighing. “Feed me, and then get over there.”

“Will do, Plagg.” Adrien beamed down at the ballet flat. “Will do.”

***

Mireille was sitting on the steps across from the Arc when Adrien arrived in the Gorilla’s car, still scrolling through his phone for a text from Marinette. Spotting Mireille, Adrien pocketed his phone and slipped the shoe out from his jacket, where he’d kept it pressed up against his ribs.

Mireille smiled as he approached. “Hi, Adrien. What’s this about?”

“Okay, you’re going to think this is really weird,” Adrien said, trying for a disarming smile. “But I need you to try on this shoe.”

Mireille blinked at him. “What?”

Adrien bit his lip. “It’s very important to me that my favorite girl tries on this shoe.”

Mireille went back to smiling. “Okay, I guess if I’m your favorite girl, I can do that as a favor.”

Adrien glanced down at Mireille’s feet. They were… big. Much bigger than the petite, precious ballet flat he held. As she toed off her own black flats, he clutched his Lady’s shoe to his chest, intending on protecting it.

Mireille’s toes were… well… they had toe jam in them and the nails were split horribly. It looked like she’d bitten them to the quicks. She held her hand out for the flat and Adrien swallowed his horror, handing it to her even though he knew her foot wouldn’t fit in it. 

“Darn, this is too small,” she said, squishing her foot into the pink flat. “Why’d you want your favorite girl to try this shoe on?”

“I was… curious.” Adrien shrugged. “Maybe I wanted to buy my favorite girl some shoes.”

“I’d love that, Adrien,” Mireille said, the top of her foot bulging out of the flat as she kissed his cheek. She took off the shoe and handed it to him, and he gave her a smile he knew was uneasy but he couldn’t control. 

Once the flat was back in his tight grasp, Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. He wondered if he should go home and wash it first. _How could I ask someone to try on a personal item like a shoe? That’s terrible._

He wondered what his Lady’s feet looked like. He’d grin and bear it if her feet looked like Mireille’s, but he’d probably try to get her to take care of herself first. _My poor Lady, having the habit of biting her toenails… I wonder if I can help her…_

“Adrien?” Mireille was waving her hand in front of his face. “Adrien?”

“Oh, uh, yeah… sorry,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, I spaced out for a moment. I think I’ve got everything I need, Mireille, thanks for trying on the shoe!”

Mireille’s lips twisted in moue of disappointment. “Are you sure? You don’t want to hang out for a bit?”

“Sorry, Mireille, I think my bodyguard’s waiting for me, bye!”

As he hopped in the backseat of the car, Adrien felt pretty terrible ditching Mireille, and vowed to make it up to her. “Plagg,” he whispered to his pocket, ignoring the Gorilla’s eyes in the rear view mirror. “Plagg.”

“What?” Plagg hissed. “I was napping.”

“She’s not Mireille,” Adrien said, relieved. He furrowed his brow. “What do I do?”

“You’ve narrowed the possibility down to two girls.” Plagg yawned. “Go find the other one.”

“You really think my Lady could be Marinette?” Adrien nearly bounced in his seat. Marinette was his best friend aside from Ladybug. Marinette was a sweet, wonderful, caring, competent, brave girl, and he wouldn’t put her being his lady past her at all. 

“Why not?” Plagg huffed. “I’m going back to sleep.”

“Plagg!” Adrien whisper-shouted, and the Gorilla grunted. Adrien lowered his voice. “She never answered my texts. What do I do?”

Plagg’s voice was as dry as dust. “You’re in a car. You figure it out.”

Adrien perked up, raising his head. He leaned forward and tapped the Gorilla on the shoulder. “To the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, please.”

The Gorilla grunted again and pulled the car out onto the street after Adrien buckled up.

Adrien spent the ride examining the shoe. _If my Lady really is Marinette,_ Adrien thought, growing more and more giddy, _Then that means the two girls I loved are one!_

Adrien wasn’t blind. Marinette was a beautiful person inside and out, and he’d toyed with the idea of asking her on a date or two. But his Lady had held onto his heart for too long, even if Marinette had carved out her own place in it. So he was content to remain friends with her, and she seemed to be as well.

But now… The tantalizing prospect of her being his Lady was just out of reach.

By the time the car reached the bakery, Adrien could barely sit still. He unbuckled his seatbelt before the car fully stopped, earning him a stern glare from the Gorilla that Adrien ignored. The boy bolted out of the car, leaving the door open, and burst through the door to the bakery. “Marinette!” 

“Oh!” Sabine said from behind the counter. “Adrien! It’s been a while.”

Adrien bounced in place. “Hi, Mrs. Cheng. Is Marinette here?”

“Please, call me Sabine.”

“Sabine,” Adrien said, feeling a warmth spreading from his heart out to his limbs, which trembled in anticipation. He placed his hand over his heart, crushing the shoe in his jacket pocket. “I’m looking for Marinette.”

Sabine chuckled. “That’s what you said. She’s upstairs. Go ahead and go on up.”

“Thank you!” Adrien leapt in place, raising his fist above his head. Before she could change her mind, Adrien zipped through the open doorway and took the stairs two at a time.

As soon as Adrien reached the trapdoor, Plagg hovered up from his pocket to whine at Adrien. “If she’s Ladybug, she’ll still be Ladybug ten minutes from now. You don’t have to rush.”

“You don’t get it, Plagg,” Adrien said, panting from his run and the possibilities. “It’s been _four years._ Four long, long years of me wondering who my partner was behind the mask. Of loving someone when I didn’t even know her name.” 

Adrien cupped his own cheeks. “And now that I have the potential to know who she is… Plagg! Why am I wasting time talking to you? My Lady is waiting!”

Plagg smirked. “Why, indeed…”

Adrien ignored him. Taking the shoe out of his pocket, he opened the trapdoor and popped his head through it. “Marinette?”

Marinette appeared to have been pacing throughout her room, one pink ballet flat on, one pink ballet flat off. She skidded to a stop. “A-Adrien?” 

Adrien sighed dreamily. She really was his Lady! And she had beautiful feet. They were small and slender, graceful and solid. Her toes were painted pink with white pawprints, which Adrien appreciated.

Adrien stepped through the trapdoor, holding out the shoe. “Marinette, I would be hon--”

Marinette pointed at the shoe with a shaking finger. “That’s not mine!”

Adrien tilted his head. He looked pointedly down at her feet. “My Lady?”

Marinette shook her head rapidly. “Not mine. That _can’t_ be mine, you see, because I’ve never owned a pink ballet flat in my life!” Her cheeks flushed a pretty dusky rose color. “The one you see on my foot right now isn’t mine either!”

Adrien felt the sting of tears high in his nose. He knelt down and reached out for her foot. She didn’t shy away, so even though he hesitated at first, he grasped her ankle in his hand and slipped her shoe on. 

It was a perfect fit.

Adrien sat back on his haunches and wiped his dry eyes. If she didn’t stop messing with him, he really was going to cry. “My Lady. You can drop the act. I know it’s you.”

Marinette’s shoulders sagged. She glanced down at the floor and gripped her elbow. “Hi, Kitty. I’m sorry it’s me.”

Adrien stood and took her chin in his hand, raising her gaze to him. “Marinette, I’m… I’m _honored_ she’s you. His voice came out in a breathy whisper, his heart pounding as if his feelings were going to burst right out of his chest. “I wanted her to be you.”

Tears welled in Marinette’s eyes. “Oh,” she said.

And that was all she said, for a long while, until she asked, “what do we do now?”

Adrien had been caught up in memorizing every freckle on her face, so when she spoke, she caught him by surprise. He was still gripping her chin, so he slipped his hand to her cheek instead. She let him, leaning into his touch which he took as a good sign.

“I don’t know.” Adrien sighed. “I want you to know that I’m still going to patrol at night.”

Marinette giggled. She sniffed, and stepped back to scrub her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Tikki, you can come out now.”

Tikki floated up from Marinette’s purse. Plagg vibrated in Adrien’s pocket. “Is he here, Chat?” Tikki asked, her indigo eyes huge and wide. “Is Plagg here?”

Plagg shot out from Adrien’s pocket and tackled Tikki in the air. “I thought you’d never ask.” They phased back into Marinette’s purse.

Adrien laughed at his kwami’s zeal, thinking that Plagg had the right idea. “So, my Lady… Ice cream? Or a card game?”

“What?” Marinette blinked up at him. He didn’t realize his lady was so short. Adorable short; he towered over her due to a recent growth spurt. She always looked taller in the suit, he thought. “Ice cream?”

“Well, I figure we have a chance to get to know each other better now,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head again. “I mean, we’re not dating, but...” 

_Yet?_ Adrien wondered, hoping beyond hope that they would sometime. But she still loved the other boy, he knew.

“No, we’re not.” Marinette cast her gaze to the floor and bit her lip. 

_That looks painful._ Before he could stop himself, Adrien ran his finger over her lower lip to free her flesh from the grip of her teeth. Marinette gasped, her cheeks flaring to life like a traffic light.

“Er, sorry.” Adrien cleared his throat into his fist. “It just looked painful, so I, uh…”

“No, it’s fine,” Marinette squeaked. “It’s cool, we’re just… two superheroes doing superhero things!” 

“Yeah…” Adrien said, rubbing his burning cheeks. “So, uh, how about a game?”

“Ultimate Mecha Strike III?”

“Ultimate Mecha Strike III.”

***

The next few weeks were the best of Adrien’s life. He’d thought he and his lady were in sync before; now they were able to read each other’s every movement. Chat and Ladybug took down akumas with aplomb; Adrien and Marinette took down notes they’d pass to each other in class.

And he got to spend more time with her, too. They’d become closer than ever; the two teens and their kwamis were attached at the hips. Tikki and Plagg weren’t complaining, so Adrien was happily falling deeper and deeper in love with Marinette. 

But she didn’t seem to love him yet. She still loved the other boy, he knew, but he was still holding out hope she’d look his way sometime. Marinette certainly seemed to think they were good friends, and Adrien was content with that.

“And her toes were horrifying,” Adrien said with Marinette’s feet in his lap. They were sitting on her chaise longue after a rousing round of video games. “I didn’t want my Lady to have neglected her feet like that.”

“Oh, nooo.” Marinette gave him a pained smile. “I can understand why you came to me afterwards. Is Mireille really the only girl you know besides me that hasn’t been akumatized?”

“Practically.” Adrien huffed, gently running his knuckles over Marinette’s foot. She kicked out, giggling. Adrien gave her a sly smile. “My Lady, are you ticklish here?”

“What?” Marinette’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare, Adrien Agreste!”

Adrien moved as quick as a snake. He wrapped one arm around her ankle and tore her shoe off with his other hand, seizing her foot and tickling her mercilessly. 

Marientte howled, gasping for breath and cackling like her life depended on it. She squirmed in his hold using her other foot to kick his shoulder. “A-A-A-Adrien!” 

Adrien laughed wickedly, continuing the ruthless torture. Marinette lashed around like a mermaid out of water, managing to flip over in his hold and start crawling off the chaise. 

“Oh, no you don’t!” Adrien said, dragging her back to him. She squealed, giggling. “C’mere, you!”

Still having her ankle locked in his grip, Adrien slipped a hand behind her back, pulling her back up. Both breathless, they touched foreheads to each other and rested, wearing matching grins.

Marinette rubbed her nose on his. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m not a piece of paper, my Lady.”

Marinette barked out a laugh, and Adrien released her foot, though he still held onto her back. Just as he was about to lower her down to the chaise, she grabbed his shoulders in both hands and pulled herself into his lap.

“Marinette…” Adrien drew a breath through his nose. He lightly dragged his fingers across the sole of her foot, prompting her hips to wiggle in his lap--something he did not expect. “You have really cute feet.”

“Thanks.” Marinette’s smile turned shy and adorable. Adrien didn’t know how he didn’t see it before: she was charming. “You have really big hands.”

Adrien threw his head back to laugh. “And that’s a good thing?”

“Of course!” Marinette pouted a little. “Big hands are good for foot rubs!”

Adrien blinked up at her. “You want a foot rub?”

Marinette lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I wouldn’t be opposed. You owe me after tickling me so much.”

“Huh. Okay.”

Careful not to put his hands where they shouldn’t go, Adrien gently scooped her up and placed her on the chaise, pulling her bare foot against his belly. “I’ve never given a foot rub before,” he said. “So tell me if I mess up, okay?”

“You won’t.” She beamed, and Adrien was lost in the way her pretty, pink lips curved. “I trust you.”

That, more than anything, warmed Adrien from the inside out. The words were like drinking a hot chocolate--sweet and rich and comfortable. 

He rubbed the top of her foot with his thumbs, starting at the tip of her big toe and moving slowly up to her ankle. Beginning at her ankle, he moved back down her foot two to three times, applying firm pressure with his thumbs. 

She groaned, her head dropping back to expose the column of her pale throat. Adrien’s chest was tight and his face flared to life with fire. He next massaged the arches of her foot, using his thumbs to apply light pressure right below the ball. Moving one thumb clockwise and the other counterclockwise, he kept the pressure firm and steady.

“That feels sooo goooood,” she whined, pressing her foot into his hands in an implicit demand for comfort. 

Adrien swallowed hard. “I-I’m glad.”

He tried to distract himself by remaining as professional as possible. “The Achilles tendon runs from the heel and the ankle up to the calf muscle,” he informed her, rubbing her heel in circular motions with his thumbs. Interestingly enough, the skin on her heel was hard; she clearly spent a lot of time on her feet.

“Is it?” Marinette said, though her voice came out more as a hiss as he dug his fingers into her Achilles tendon. He squeezed and pulled each toe, holding her foot in one of his apparently-huge hands right under the arch. He rotated her big toe and pulled on it, and it popped, making him laugh and dispelling some of his tension.

_It’s just a foot rub. Friends give each other foot rubs all the time, right?_

Adrien found the hollow area below her ankle and gently squeezed it between his thumb and forefinger. Marinette’s eyes fluttered closed, and her sigh did wicked things to Adrien’s poise. 

Shifting to hold her foot by the heel, Adrien used his fist to massage the sole. He felt like he was kneading dough, which he’d done once when Marinette had taught him to bake bread two weeks ago. 

Marinette moaned and Adrien tried to keep composed, he really did. He bit his lip hard, shifting to her other foot. _If she keeps this up, I’ll… I don’t know what I’ll do._

Adrien’s neck felt hot; he wondered if he was going to start sweating with how warm his face was. Thankfully, she kept her indecent noises to a minimum with the second foot. Adrien shook out his hands, but Marinette placed her toes on his chest. 

“Adrien.”

“Yeah?”

Marinette crawled into his lap again and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to. Your feet were really tense.”

Marinette shrugged. “Comes with saving the city.”

Adrien was still flustered. He tried to play off his gulping incoherence as a joke. “Start dating me and you can have a foot rub anytime.”

Marinette tilted her head. “You know?” she said. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“Wait, what?”

“You and me.” Marinette pointed to her chest and then poked him in his. “Dating.”

“What?”

“You know,” she said, a grin stealing over her lips. “Going out? Going steady? Together?”

“ _What?_ ”

Marinette harrumphed. “I don’t know how else to spell it out for you, Adrien. Do you want to be my boyfriend or not?”

Adrien’s brain sputtered to life. “Of course I do,” he said, squeezing her shoulders. “But what about the other boy?”

Marinette’s grin faded into a sad, somber expression. “Oh, Kitty. That was you all along.”

Adrien gasped. He cupped her cheeks. “It was me? You… You like me?”

“Adrien,” Marinette said, gently kissing the corner of his mouth. “I love you.”

And Adrien’s heart soared.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr at [@sing-in-me-oh-muse](https://sing-in-me-oh-muse.tumblr.com)!
> 
> \---
> 
> Are you interested in reading or writing fanfiction? Do you draw or edit pictures or even cosplay? Are you looking for a community of like-minded and supportive people? Then join the [Miraculous Fanworks](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) Discord server! 
> 
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